Plane delay nearly wrecked big day

HUNDREDS of holidaymakers have finally jetted off for Cuba after a 28-hour delay at Manchester Airport. Paul Mitchell and Helen Gallaugher feared their wedding would end in ruins because they had to be in the country three working days before the big day on Tuesday.

HUNDREDS of holidaymakers have finally jetted off for Cuba after a 28-hour delay at Manchester Airport.

The Thomas Cook flight to Cayo Coco, with 351 people on board, originally took off six hours late on Thursday.

An hour into the flight, the pilot decided to return to Manchester when a pressure warning light came on.

Paul Mitchell and Helen Gallaugher, from Newcastle feared their wedding would end in ruins because they had to be in the country three working days before the big day on Tuesday.

Their plane finally took off yesterday afternoon.

Paul, a 27-year-old engineer, said: "It's just the two of us flying out and we plan to have a celebration with family and friends when we return."

Helen said: "We always wanted to marry by a beach, so the delay was obviously a big worry for us."

Mark Jubb, from Leeds, was flying with his family to celebrate his daughter Charlie's fifth birthday.

He said: "We've been treated very poorly. It's cost a fortune while we've been waiting. We were given just a £5 voucher during the first delay and then another £10 when we came back."

A spokesman for Thomas Cook said: "Safety is paramount and we have tried to make passengers as comfortable as possible. The flight was delayed because the aircraft was late coming back from maintenance.

"In an unrelated incident, a warning light on the flight deck came on about an hour into the flight and the pilot turned back as a precaution."